Qatar\u2019s head coach remains optimistic despite a tough opening defeat, insisting that Al Annabi will find their footing in the upcoming match against DPR Korea. After suffering a setback against the United Arab Emirates last week, coach Bartolome \u2018Tintin\u2019 Marquez Lopez expresses confidence in his team\u2019s potential to recover and secure a direct spot in the FIFA World Cup 2026.<\/p>\n
In their next challenge, Al Annabi will take on North Korea at the National Stadium in Laos, aiming to bounce back from a challenging 3-1 loss in their first AFC Asian Qualifiers match. Although Qatar entered the qualifiers as favorites, having previously dominated North Korea with a 6-0 victory during their successful Asian Cup run in 2019, the recent unexpected loss has made their path complicated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m confident we can bounce back from this,\u201d said Marquez Lopez. He emphasized that opportunities remain in the group, with nine matches still to play and a lot to consider in terms of qualifying chances.<\/p>\n
However, he also cautioned against underestimating North Korea, recognizing their impressive performance in a narrow 1-0 defeat to Uzbekistan. \u201cI watched their match. They played well, and this game won\u2019t be easy for either side,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
As both Qatar and North Korea sit without points in their group, where Iran, UAE, and Uzbekistan have already claimed victories, there are high expectations for Qatar to secure all three points. This is essential not only to recover from their setback but also to affirm their status in a group that includes strong competitors like Iran. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve moved on from the UAE match,\u201d emphasized Yusuf Abdurisag, a key player for Qatar. \u201cOur goal is to win, just like every other team.\u201d <\/p>\n
Reinforcements for the squad include centre forward Ahmed Al-Rawi and the newly naturalized playmaker Edmilson Junior, who could provide additional attacking power as needed. For Qatar, it\u2019s clear: only a win will ease the challenges lying ahead.<\/p>\n
Their strategy will likely focus on getting more touches for star players Akram Afif and Almoez Ali, who struggled to make an impact against the UAE. Afif’s sharp instincts and synergy with Ali must be utilized to penetrate North Korea\u2019s defense, which may be riding a wave of confidence after their previous match.<\/p>\n
As the clash approaches, former North Korean player turned coach Sin Yong Nam has acknowledged the strengths of the Qatari side. \u201cQatar are a strong team and the current Asian champions,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Although North Korea qualified for the World Cup in 2010 as the lowest-ranked nation, they\u2019ve faced challenges since then. Having withdrawn from recent qualifiers due to COVID-19 concerns, they are now back on the international stage.<\/p>\n
Playing against Asian champions without home support will likely pose a challenge for North Korea; however, Yong Nam remains hopeful. \u201cIn football, anything can happen, so we will aim for a positive result,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Qatar\u2019s head coach remains optimistic despite a tough opening defeat, insisting that Al Annabi will find their footing in the upcoming match against DPR Korea. After suffering a setback against the United Arab Emirates last week, coach Bartolome \u2018Tintin\u2019 Marquez Lopez expresses confidence in his team\u2019s potential to recover and secure a direct spot in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[284,286,290,291,148,293,294,289,288,165,82,283,292,287,285],"class_list":{"0":"post-2867","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-al-annabi","9":"tag-asian-qualifiers","10":"tag-believes","11":"tag-bounce","12":"tag-doha","13":"tag-dpr","14":"tag-korea","15":"tag-lopez","16":"tag-marquez","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-qatar","19":"tag-qatar-football","20":"tag-successfully","21":"tag-tintin-marquez-lopez","22":"tag-world-cup-qualifiers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alfanouscar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alfanouscar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alfanouscar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alfanouscar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alfanouscar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2867"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alfanouscar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2869,"href":"https:\/\/alfanouscar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2867\/revisions\/2869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alfanouscar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alfanouscar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alfanouscar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alfanouscar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}